Can you be racist towards white people?
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Whiteness can't be based on skin color because it hasn't ever included all light-skinned peoples.
It can't be based on shared cultural experiences because radically different cultures have been absorbed into the fold.
It can't be based on genetics because whiteness is a complete social construct with no biological evidence to support the term.
So what exactly is whiteness?
I think you may be using a different definition of "culture" than is commonly understood? Culture is typically thought of in terms of artistic output and food and customs, that sort of thing.
If you consider racism as just anecdotal prejudice, then yes, white people can experience that kind of racism, in an anecdotal way. I tend to prefer calling it "prejudice" rather than racism, because:
If you consider racism as a system of oppression encompassing power positions of entire groups, then no, white people don't experience racism at all. And that to me is the true definition of racism: being discriminated in a systemic way, rather than prejudiced in an anecdotal & individual basis way.
Individual white people can suffer from prejudice here and there from other individual people, but don't suffer from systemic racism at all.
If you consider racism as a system of oppression encompassing power positions of entire groups, then no, white people don't experience racism at all. And that to me is the true definition of racism: being discriminated in a systemic way, rather than prejudiced in an anecdotal & individual basis way.
Individual white people can suffer from prejudice here and there from other individual people, but don't suffer from systemic racism at all.
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Do you think Germans put out the same food and art as Italians, who in turn put out the same food and art as the Irish? Hell, do Texans have the same culture as New Englanders? No. But somehow they're all "white."
Why? What is whiteness?
I have a question to those who say white people cannot be discriminated because of the power imbalance: if, for example, a Chinese person makes a prejudiced remark to a white person who lives in China, solely based on their race or skin colour, this doesn’t count as racism in your perspective?
I appreciate the need to include the context of power imbalance, but surely there are other terms you can use. If the question is: are white people in general systematically oppressed in Western Europe and the US, then the answer would of course be no.
I appreciate the need to include the context of power imbalance, but surely there are other terms you can use. If the question is: are white people in general systematically oppressed in Western Europe and the US, then the answer would of course be no.
I agree, I shouldn't have started with the "no" it was poorly worded on my part. Anyhow, appreciated, you had me mildy mad with your comment ha
Of course you can. It's also disheartening to see people say it's not important or doesn't need to be addressed. Racism is always lame and should always be something we strive to defeat.
It doesn't have to be institutional racism to be racist. It can be what most people outside of the forum consider it. A hatred for a skin color.
In North America and Europe, generally not. Other places in the world that are predominantly another race whom is in power, yes. A white person can also experience individual racism where a person simply does not like you because of your race or they think their race is inherently superior to yours, those are racist, that can exist in places like North America and Europe.
It's important to understand that with some races in particular, in the United States in particular, African Americans and Native Americans have especially dealt with systemic racism in a way that white people simply cannot experience. White people generally hold the power dynamic in this country as they tend to have more wealth, tend to occupy more positions of power and either the persistence of existing systemic racism or the effects of very harsh systemic racism in the past are still having an impact on those minorities in the present.
So in the United States, even when someone is being individually racist against other white people or a group of people are being that way, the effects are generally not the same because of that historical context.
It's important to understand that with some races in particular, in the United States in particular, African Americans and Native Americans have especially dealt with systemic racism in a way that white people simply cannot experience. White people generally hold the power dynamic in this country as they tend to have more wealth, tend to occupy more positions of power and either the persistence of existing systemic racism or the effects of very harsh systemic racism in the past are still having an impact on those minorities in the present.
So in the United States, even when someone is being individually racist against other white people or a group of people are being that way, the effects are generally not the same because of that historical context.
Hispanic in the south here.
Its not the same. White people are the benefactors of systemic oppression. The acts and implications are completely different in the extreme outlier case when white people are victimized... so much so that I can't take this question in good faith. They can experience someone people shitty to them. They cannot experience racism in the way that's actually culturally relevant.
Its not the same. White people are the benefactors of systemic oppression. The acts and implications are completely different in the extreme outlier case when white people are victimized... so much so that I can't take this question in good faith. They can experience someone people shitty to them. They cannot experience racism in the way that's actually culturally relevant.
I feel like people forget that America and Europe's long history of dominating the world, and cultural hegemony that has become even more prevalent in the 20th century (Hollywood hello?), has put white people in a place where they are generally seen in a positive light, a superior one, even in parts of the world where they'd be minorities (IE: Asia, Africa, etc).
Don't underestimate the power of cultural hegemony and its impact on white privilege. This is why white people are easily adopted in Asian countries, heck, I've even seen stories about how some Asian companies like to employ token white people over Asian people to make them look "fancier".
White cultural hegemony is worldwide at this point, and clearly not restricted to America & Europe only.
Don't underestimate the power of cultural hegemony and its impact on white privilege. This is why white people are easily adopted in Asian countries, heck, I've even seen stories about how some Asian companies like to employ token white people over Asian people to make them look "fancier".
White cultural hegemony is worldwide at this point, and clearly not restricted to America & Europe only.
Yes, anyone saying otherwise is being stupid. Just because your race is the one in a position of power or are the majority doesn't mean that individuals of that group can't experience racism.
Fine could they experience a deep hatred from another person who is not white simply because they are white? Yes or no?
I mention institutional racism mainly with my fellow white suburbanites I grew up with in mind - regularly claiming that society was institutionally racist toward them. When in reality it was just institutions slightly less prioritizing white people at the expense of all others.
Pretty much.
There are a lot of people who scream white systemic racism when their privilege gets impacted from actual systemic racism is being addressed.
You're mixing up race and nationalities. There are white Germans and black Germans. Anything either did would be "German."
If they have white skin they are white, because to define a white Race would be Very complicated and Impossible, they are accepted as white in Brazil. But yeah they arent accepted in the white club in Europe and US, the same happens with white latinos.
Obviously yes... not sure how this is even a question really. The fact that some posters actually say no is kind of unsettling.
Of course you can. What a weird question.
One of the absolute stupidest first responses ever.
Is this for real? Where are these white people from (they're so short they may be gnomes and maybe that's why they are so clueless)? The "black" barbeque looks exactly the same as any "white" barbeque I've ever been to, but the white people are acting as if they landed on an alien planet.
I wouldn't expect an average Era user to know anything about chetniks or Serbian nationalism in general.
For which country? Race is a sub culture to national culture (white and black Americans share more in common culturally than with people that share their race from other countries).
Of course. The real question is: Can racism towards white people put them at any systemic disadvantage?
The answer is no.
With that distinction said: I don’t fuck with racists. Period. Yes, I’ve met people that hate white people and I drop them like a bad habit. Can’t fuck with that.
And finally: Criticizing the legacy of white supremacy doesn’t mean you’re being racist against white people.
The answer is no.
With that distinction said: I don’t fuck with racists. Period. Yes, I’ve met people that hate white people and I drop them like a bad habit. Can’t fuck with that.
And finally: Criticizing the legacy of white supremacy doesn’t mean you’re being racist against white people.
It's my personal belief that we may be able to experience prejudice, but not racism. If you understand where that prejudice comes from and the historical factors at play, it's laughable to call it "racism" in the same vein as what we have towards other races. The element of systemic and societal power and oppression is not there. And if we can be victims of racism, it's on such a small scale and is fueled by the shit that we do and we harbor some of the responsibility for it.
If it's scary to some that people would answer "no" to the OP, it might be equally as scary to think some of the people saying "yes" may actually feel like they are victims.
If it's scary to some that people would answer "no" to the OP, it might be equally as scary to think some of the people saying "yes" may actually feel like they are victims.
This is a crucial point people are missing when they claim white supremacy is US centric.
Let's just go with America, for the sake of argument. What is white American culture?
See, I agree with you but do have a question or two. Do you consider these examples to be white-on-white racism? Because when the context is Africa, it's dressed up as tribalism or ethnic conflict.
I agree with this. (It's not a discussion that can simply boiled down to a simple yes or no question).
People probaby got banned for it on here before during heated arguments.
There isn't one. In the United States, white people and their culture can probably be defined by some combination of their ancestry to whatever country they came from and the region in the United States they live in. There isn't one homogeneous white culture though.
I dunno, isn't it intrinsically difficult to define a culture while you're in it? But clearly there are differences in white and black cultures in America, or else it wouldn't be possible to appropriate black culture.
Country music is culturally white, I suppose.
it’s possible on an individual level for someone to have irrational prejudice against white people, I guess, but there’s no systemic oppression or marginalization of white people so I wouldn’t call that “racism” per se
Well I guess this depends on how you define racism. Is it solely because of skin color? I mean Roma people get discriminated also by their looks even though they are white. Not just by their culture. Even if you completely discard your roma culture and have high education and high paying job you will experience discrimination because how you look. isn't that racism? Another example. If you are white skinned person from middle east but still don't look like a western european you can't experience racism because your skin color?
The thing is not liking white people when you are black can't just be seen as racism. Like South Africa where a lot of discrimination to white people goes on. There is a reason why many black people there act that way, due to history.
It is the same in many countries.
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